Somehow, nearly half a year has passed since I last updated this newsletter/blog.
I had big plans for summer updates: announcements for not one but two major new games; insightful and intelligent commentary on various things such as the relationship between morality and “winning” in games, the fragmented discourse communities of poetry, and some other things I’ve forgotten about; and lots of pointers to neat things I’ve read and played.
Alas, my pockets are full of holes and all those plans fell out of them. So instead you’re getting a half-assed title reference to an SFF classic and the reading equivalent of “What I Did On My Summer Holidays.”
Ah well! We can’t all be interesting all of the time.
(PS there are puppy photos at the end, at least.)
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been doing a lot of reading, at least. And for the first time in literally ever, I’ve kept a list of what I’ve read! Phew.
My favourite new book-shaped things this year so far, in no particular order:
Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou (Tin House, 2025)
A fascinating, gripping Bluebeard retelling that was hard to put down.
But it’s a lot more than just a “Bluebeard retelling.”
Hard to describe, really, other than that it’s great, so I’ll just put one of the pull quotes from the cover here:
“A folktale, a whisper, and a dream all at once.”—Rory Power
The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tor, 2025)
A short, sweet fantasy with lots of loving wordplay and a fun twist on the fae.
If you’re looking for something that will put a smile on your face, give this one a look.
The Hands of the Emperor and At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard (2024/2025, self-published)
Absolute doorstoppers of a book, both of them, but with characters and a setting I grew to love dearly.
If you like Le Guin, stories with an intimate focus in an epic fantasy setting, magic, gentle humour, and a cosy, optimistic outlook that doesn’t sugarcoat how rough the world is, definitely check these out!
You can get both titles, along with a bunch of related novellas, for only $30 in ebook form, to boot.
The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy (Feminist Press, 2024)
I missed this one last year, and I’m sorry I did because it was most excellent.
It’s first and foremost a coming-of-age type novel about a trans witch, but stating it that way really flattens a lot of the cool stuff this book has in it. There’s death magic, political manoeuvring, rebellion and oppression and resistance, witchcraft (obvs.) and a whole lot of exploration of gender.
Like a lot of the things I’ve vibed with lately, at its heart the book is about finding those who will accept you for who you really are. I enjoyed every word of this, and am really looking forward to the other books in the series.
The Iron Below Remembers by Sharang Biswas (Neon Hemlock, 2025)
Part academic mystery, part super-hero novel, part alternate history, part archaeological dig, part gay romance, part… I dunno, there are probably some other parts in there.
The whole thing is awesome, though, and a lot of fun, with some moments where I literally laughed out loud. But it’s also a great character study! This book contains multitudes, folks, and all of them appeal.
Come for the gay superheroes and stay for the acerbic footnotes. Or come for the footnotes and stay for the gay superheroes. I’m not fussed which, just go read it!
The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui (Erewhon, 2026)
Yes, 2026—this one isn’t coming out until February!
I was lucky enough to read a review copy on NetGalley last month, though, and it was fantastic.
Space monks! Embedded non-human intelligences! Academia and ritual and murders and spooky abandoned spaceships!
If you’re into space opera and complicated relationships, you’ll really dig this one. (And pre-orders are super important, so you know what to do!)
These are only a handful of the great books/stories/collections/graphic novels I’ve read this year (my count so far is 52 just for book-length things), so certainly something not being on this list doesn’t mean I think it wasn’t good! But these are the ones that have resonated with me the most, so far.
Some New Games!
As noted, I had a few new games come out over the summer. The first two are the big ones, and they are set in the same universe. The others are smaller.
Spire, Surge, and Sea
In a far-future seascape cursed by the ancients, will you make mankind’s last home a haven or a fortress?
Spire, Surge, and Sea is a 380,000-word science fantasy epic where the gods, the spirits, and your king are watching your every move.
Published by Choice of Games in July, 2025.
Crescent Sea Story
You wake on a boat in the midst of a vast, ruined ocean. You have no memories. You have no belongings. Your only companions are five fragments of your missing self.
A powerful urge draws you southward towards what you know is your destiny, but before you can grasp it you must reclaim your identity. Follow your fragments through your own past and discover what happened to the world—and to you alongside it.
Written for IFComp in September, 2025
Rooftop Tolls
Can you help the plants and denizens in the garden beds get what they need to flourish, so you can go back inside?
Created for Neo-Twiny Jam 2025, weighing in at approximately 405 words (not counting code, etc.)
Ginkō at the End of Time
Everything is coming apart. Take one more walk and marvel at the strangeness of the world.
A one-page RPG about impermanence, strangeness, beauty, and writing haiku.
Writing Update
With those two big games out of the way, I’m… making one of the games bigger? Sounds legit.
- I’m working on a substantial content revision and update for Spire, Surge, and Sea, hopefully to be completed and released before the end of 2025.
- I finished revising a novella (set in the North York Moors National Park!) and submitted it to a publisher and an agent. This is the first time I’ve done either of those things for a book-length prose work, so that’s equal parts terrifying and exciting.
- After the revision is done, I dunno. Maybe turning one of my StoryLoom games into a Hosted Game in Choicescript? I have ideas for a stand-alone companion piece to the completed novella as well. We’ll see
See You, Space Cowboys
Part of the reason my late summer was so busy was this absolute monster, don’t let her cuteness fool you.
Presented to you in “how it started; how it’s going” style:
How it started
How it’s going
